Gale Virtual Reference Library Lesson 5

      The Gale Reference Library is a wonderful tool for small school or public libraries.  I chose the American Civil War Reference Library and went to biographies. I was interested in Winslow Homer and found a great biography about him.  What I liked the most was the bibliography at the end which would help with further research.  In that same vein, the left sidebar offers a guide to related subjects.  As I said, this is an invaluable aid to libraries with limited research collections.
     Using the "Basic Search", I was able to find out about zinc through The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health.  Another great research tool.  When typing in Huckleberry Finn, I found
 54 essays.  Using the sidebar and clicking on Critical Essays, I narrowed it down to 46 essays.  After each title, there is a description of what can be found in that essay (ie:  topic, overview, glossary, biography personal account or excerpts). Great resources.